


Breakfast

by Erradianwhocantread



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Maedhros Ruins Breakfast, Soul Bond, fingon ruins a very important and very dignified meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 01:49:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erradianwhocantread/pseuds/Erradianwhocantread
Summary: Enjoying foods you can't eat vicariously through your partner is much more effective when you can share sensations.





	Breakfast

Fingon felt the mental equivalent of a feather-touch on his nose wake him from what he knew was an over-long and luxurious sleep. He was unsurprised to find the sun already creeping into the corner of the skylight and Maedhros gone. He’d never been prone to staying long abed, even in his youth, and since his captivity sleep had been even more of a stranger to him. Fingon stretched, embarrassed at having to be awakened to avoid wasting the entire day in bed, and noticed for the first time the tray that someone, someone of course being Maedhros, had left on the nightstand, complete with steaming mug of whatever the morning drink of choice in Himring was and spray of blue wildflowers. He could feel Maedhros’s fond, satisfied amusement, and behind that his conflict between wanting to let Fingon sleep and the food getting cold. That was all the additional prompting that Fingon needed to roust himself from the cocoon of blankets and take the tray over to the chair by the fire. The food was excellent, rich, and flavorful, and there was plenty of it. It was exactly the sort of breakfast one would prepare to surprise one’s beloved with, and Fingon knew that it was not what Maedhros had chosen to eat himself, if he’d eaten at all. 

Reaching out along their bond, Fingon gave him a healthy dose of disapproving concern, wondering not for the first time what Maedhros did when he wasn’t here to badger him into looking after himself at least a little. Belatedly, he included a desire for Maedhros to return that they might share the meal. 

Of course Maedhros was very busy with the duties of running his realm in this inhospitable clime with the enemy on his doorstep, though he certainly shared the desire to return, and below that… nausea? 

Confused, Fingon probed the feeling… it wasn’t fresh, not even current, yet it had a quality that seemed constant… memory? Scar? He’d never mentioned any lingering complaint and yet this must be the reason for his infuriating diet. 

He felt Maedhros gently putting him aside, directing his attention elsewhere, burying the strange sensation. Of course, of course, it would not have been very pleasant for Maedhros to have his beloved rifling in his pain like that, especially not… oh  _ definitely  _ not when he was apparently in some meeting with Aftercomers… Fingon received a reassuring brush of “all’s well” before he could even send his own chagrin. Maedhros was again trying to nudge his attention back to the tray, but he couldn’t help feeling some shame in his enjoyment of it after he’d been so thoughtless. 

A tinge of exasperation, and then it all became clear. Oh. OH. Of course. How silly of Fingon to think his beloved had been selfless (or, more uncharacteristically, self-sacrificing) in this. How long, he wondered, had Maedhros spent fantasizing about which delicacies to include on his beloved’s plate when he had him close enough? As it was there were fluffy biscuits drowned in a thick gravy of venison sausage, a dish of some strange orange fruit dressed with spiced syrup, and the strange tea which, disturbingly, was a sulfuric yellow. Well, he would no longer deny Maedhros or himself the pleasure of this meal. 

Normally Fingon ate too quickly, often not noticing the taste of his food at all, a bad habit from the ice he’d yet to shake. Today that simply would not do, not with Maedhros’s anticipation dancing at the edge of his mind. He made himself take his time on the smells, the textures, the flavors, his own enjoyment bouncing back redoubled through Maedhros, who became especially excited about the fruit. Apparently this variety was a gift from the eastern Aftercomers and he’d not yet tried it. It was delicious, sweet and mellow and smooth with a yielding, supple flesh that gave the whole shared experience a cast that was slightly too sensual for breakfast. Yet the hint of disappointment in his beloved at his setting by the fruit would never do. What, really, was the difference between mutual enjoyment of this pleasure and that which they’d had the night before? 

Fingon decided he’d need something bracing before continuing down that path (this  _ was  _ breakfast, after all), and finally ventured on the mug. The first sip left him spluttering. Bracing it certainly was, and whatever he’d been expecting, it hadn’t been a concoction of vinegar, ginger, hot pepper, and turmeric. Maedhros laughed at him, and Fingon hoped he’d managed to keep it off his face in front of the Aftercomers. Well. They’d all missed the coffee they’d had to leave behind in Aman, and the people of Himring certainly weren’t the only ones trying to substitute it with other warm and waking drinks, but this was the most creative and least polite substitute Fingon had yet encountered. 

_ B _ _ ut you  _ are  _ awake now!  _

It was good to feel Maedhros laugh easily. It had been nearly a hundred years since Fingon had heard it free of any dark cynicism or desperation. Clearly he’d have to choke on his drink more often. That got him scolded for being too amusing when his beloved needed to comport himself with dignity, but they both knew that was just show. In the interests of further ruining his dignity, Fingon returned to the fruit, relishing Maedhros’s enjoyment of it more than its actual taste. 

**Author's Note:**

> Maedhros is on the Beleriand equivalent of the power-bars and plain-as-paste diet because Sauron thought it was sooooo funny to starve him for a few days and then give him incredibly rich foods (like cheesecake or some shit) and then watch him get sick (which is what happens if you try to break a fast with rich foods). So he has that problem where you can't eat things that you ate right before you got sick anymore. The fruit is a persimmon.


End file.
